Opposites Attract
by frecklesandstardust
Summary: Dan and Phil are practically complete opposites. Dan likes flowers crowns and pastel colors, his style occasionally getting him mistaken for a girl. Phil is known as the school's punk, complete with the piercings, tattoos, and leather jacket. The two met online, and instantly clicked. They dream of meeting, and it isn't as impossible as it seems.


**Warning: Slight homophobic language.**

* * *

"Dan! Could you come downstairs for a bit?" my father called from upstairs.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute," I called back. I then turned to my computer where I had been skyping with my friend Phil. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Do you want to hang up and I'll call back later or would you rather awkwardly wait until I get back?"

"I'll wait here. It shouldn't take too long, right?"

I nodded, and got up off the bed to go greet my parents. "So what's up?" I asked once I got to the lounge where they had been waiting on the couch, my brother with them as well.

My mum gestured for me to sit down. I did, wondering what had happened.

"We're moving. I got an offer for a new job with much better pay, and I simply couldn't pass it up," my dad explained.

"How far away will we be moving?" I asked curiously.

"The city is three hours from here. I'm sorry it's so far."

"It's fine. How long do I have to pack my things?" I probably wasn't taking it as most teens would, but I didn't have any real friends, so moving wasn't too big of a deal. Phil was my only friend, but there was no way we would ever meet. He lived too far away.

"Between two and three weeks. We already have someone who wants to buy the house, so once we're out, they're in," Mum answered.

"It's a bit suspicious how well you're taking this," Dad said.

I simply shrugged. My parents knew I was a loner. Sure, I talked to people, and I wasn't really bullied all that much, I just didn't fit in. That's all there was to it.

My brother, Adrian, was more popular than me, though. He had a few friends that he kept close. I could tell he was taking the move hard by his silence and the expression on his face.

There wasn't much to the conversation after that, just discussing what the new house will be like, and how the school will be. So, I was soon back upstairs to talk to Phil.

I settled back onto my bed and pulled the laptop to my lap. "Hey, I'm back," I said to him.

He looked up from his phone screen with a smile, locking it. "So what's up? Did you get in trouble?"

I shook my head. "We're moving. I have a few weeks to get my things packed."

"Do you know what city you'll be moving to?" Phil asked.

I shook my head. "I didn't bother asking. It doesn't seem all that important to me."

"Well, at least you're taking this positively. If I had to move, I would probably refuse, and beg to stay."

I chuckled. "You're almost out of high school, though. Soon you'll be at uni, so it wouldn't really matter."

"True," he said, returning the small laugh.

I was honestly hoping that I could get closer to Phil with the move, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. For all I knew, we could be moving further from him. Distance really does suck.

Honestly, Phil and I didn't even seem like the type of people to be friends at all.

He wore all black and listened to so many heavy bands that I had never even heard of. His hair was dyed black, contrasting sharply with his eyes. Oh God, his eyes. They were absolutely stunning. Green and blue hues mixed together perfectly. His lip and nose were pierced, and he had a few tattoos.

I, on the other hand, preferred pastel colors. I wore big jumpers and skinny jeans with lightly colored converse. The only thing we had in common was piercings, and really, I only had my ears pierced. I wanted to dye my hair lavender, but due to school rules, I couldn't.

But somehow, fate (and social networking) had brought us together. Turns out, we're both just needs with different ways of expressing ourselves.

Our conversation didn't stay on the move for long, and we had eventually begun to discuss anime. Before I had realized, it was past midnight, and even though we both had school the next morning, I didn't regret a thing.

ーXー

I stared out the window of the car, watching the passing cars and the world go past as we got closer to our destination.

Adrian looked as if he were on the verge of tears the whole ride. I felt sorry for him, really, but I knew he would quickly make friends at whatever school we were going to.

I expected the new school to be just as the one I was at before. I'm socially awkward and sarcastic, traits that not everyone favors, so I wasn't exactly first pick to be someone's best friend.

A passing sign read that we had entered the city of Manchester. Soon after, we pulled up to a nice-looking home.

"Here we are!" Mum said giddily.

We all climbed out of the car. I stretched, my muscles stiff. I had a long day of unpacking ahead of me. Great.

ーXー

I was at my new school the following Monday. As expected, I was forced to introduce myself during my first class.

"This is Daniel Howell," the teacher said. I think her name was Mrs. Watson. "Why don't you tell us a few things about yourself, Daniel?"

"Uh, j-just Dan is fine," I said. I focused my gaze on my mint green Converse, not wanting to meet the judgmental stares of the class. I wanted to just go sit down, and not be there, but I instead settled for making myself as small as I possibly could. Though, it's kind of hard to be small when I'm over six feet tall.

After stuttering out a generic greeting, I took my seat. Thankfully, it was at the back of the class.

All classes after that followed the same routine; I introduce myself, making myself look like a fool, then get directed to my seat where I pretend to pay attention to the current lesson.

Eventually lunch came around, something I had been dreading the most. I had gotten my food, and nervously glanced around the room at the chatting people. Lucky them, having friends to sit with. I managed to find an empty table, sitting down with a sigh.

"If only Phil were here," I mumbled.

As I was eating, someone slid into a seat across from me. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Daniel, is it?" he asked.

"Just Dan," I corrected.

"Yeah, whatever, fag."

I nearly choked hearing that word. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said."

"There's no reason to be a dickhead," I said. "What have I ever done to you?"

He paused a moment, thinking it over before completely avoiding the question. "You'll regret talking back like that. Just wait until Phil sees you. That's one beat-down I would pay to see." Then, he stood and walked off to his friend group.

I rolled my eyes. People like him were in every school. Just because I wore flower crowns and light colors, I was either gay or one of the tallest lesbians ever. You would be surprised how many people assume the latter.

As I ate, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. I wondered if it was my Phil he was talking about. Though, the voice of reason told me otherwise. For starters, Phil didn't have a mean bone in his body. And secondly, I still had no idea where Phil lived, and he was most likely still far away.

Before I had even realised how fast time was passing, the bell for the next class rang. I quickly threw my trash away then gathered my things, pushing through the crowd of people trying to fit through the one exit.

The day passed by rather quickly after that. It went better than I thought it would. I did get a few comments about my choice of clothing, but the guy at lunch had been the only one to call me a faggot so far.

As I was walking home, I decided to take the back exit, not wanting to be caught in the crowd of people. Unfortunately, I had been tailed and cornered. I immediately recognized the guy from lunch, and the situation was seeming to be increasingly more like a stereotypical high school movie. As in, they corner me, beat me up for being different, then continue to be twats.

I hadn't had time to prepare myself for what was going to happen before I was thrown to the ground. The breath was knocked out of me, and my mind wasn't quite keeping up with the world around me.

My light blue bag, covered in mud at this point, was picked up, and the contents were emptied. I shielded my face with my arms. A few notebooks and a binder had hit me, but the damage wasn't that bad.

Please let this be over soon, I prayed. And, as fate would have it, my prayers were answered.

Black combat boots appeared in my field of vision. I heard the sound of a fist contacting with something, and a sound of pain. Next, there were several footsteps that eventually faded into the distance, and the person who had chased them off kneeled down beside me.

"Hey, are you alright?" It was a thick northern accent, one that sounded far too familiar.

I looked up to meet a pair of eyes that appeared even more beautiful in person than through a computer screen. Either I had somehow suffered head trauma or it was really Phil who had come to save me.

"I'm fine," I said simply, examining the features of the person above me. A look of realisation crossed his face once I spoke.

"Oh my God. Dan?" He sounded as if he couldn't believe his eyes or ears, as if he were in some sort of realistic dream.

"Holy fuck," I mumbled, sitting up quickly. "I can't believe it's you."

Phil's arms wrapped around me tightly. He smelled nice, like a light cologne mixed with leather. "If this is a dream, I never want to wake up."

"I can assure you that it's not a dream," I said.

After a few moments, we pulled apart, each of us grinning. Though, his faded once he realized the what had been done before he got there.

I looked down at my clothes. I was covered in mud, and it felt like my nose was bleeding and my lip was split. "So much for my favorite jumper," I said with a sigh.

Phil stood, offering a hand to me which I gladly accepted. Once stood, I realized our height difference. Both of us were rather tall individuals, but I wasn't done growing, while he was close to it. So, he was quite a few inches taller than me.

"Come on, we can get you cleaned up at my place," he said.

"How will I explain to my parents why I'm home late," I asked. "And with injuries, at that."

He thought a moment. "You could tell them you were checking out clubs or something after school. As for what those guys did to you, just say you ran into a pole while looking at the map of the school."

"I think it's safe to say that we're both terrible liars," I said. "But whatever. That'll work."

He walked me to his house, and I wanted so badly to hold his hand, but held back.

Once we got through the door, we were immediately met with his mother. She was a dainty woman with short, reddish hair. She didn't question the way I dressed or what happened to me. Instead, she warmly welcomed me and went to make tea while Phil cleaned my face up.

After searching through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, we found a first aid kit and began cleaning up my lip and the dried blood around my nose. Thankfully, it wasn't that bad at all.

It was a chance to get an even closer look at his face, and dear God he was handsome. His skin was pale and his eyes were bright, contrasting with his dyed black hair and black clothing. I could easily get lost in his eyes. They were so full of life and emotion.

I was snapped out of my trance when he announced that he was finished. We then went downstairs to talk to his mum.

She gave me a bright smile and handed me a cup of tea as we settled onto the couch. "I don't believe I've seen you before. What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"Daniel, but I prefer Dan," I said. "I just moved here a few days ago."

"So did Phil happen to drag you into a fight?" She didn't seem angry or even remotely upset about the situation. My guess was that she was one of those parents that were unusually supportive of most things their child did.

I shook my head in response. "He saved me, actually. Some guys were trying to intimidate me because I'm new." I resisted the urge to call them twats, knowing that wasn't the wisest choice of words.

"What did they look like?" Phil asked.

I shrugged. "I didn't get a good look at them. Except for one that seemed to be the leader or something. He bothered me at lunch, too."

"Well, that settles it. I'm going to protect you," he declared with a grin on his pale features.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You aren't very intimidating, if I'm being honest."

"Maybe to you, but the rest of the school thinks otherwise."

I couldn't imagine sweet and caring Phil to be intimidating. Maybe if you didn't know him, yes, but surely people should have figured out that he's really just a ray of sunshine disguised in dark clothing.

I couldn't protest against him protecting me. He was stubborn, and refused to let me deny his help since he had made up his mind. So, over the next few weeks he became my body guard. It was odd, to say the least. I mean, imagine a senior over six feet tall protecting a tiny little freshman.

I still couldn't believe that, by some miracle, we had moved into the same town as Phil. It all felt like a dream come true. For once in my life, I had a best friend, someone I was close to, someone who I could actually touch and talk to, and not just see through a computer screen.

We spent a lot of time together, and before I had known it, I had fallen for him. I had a bit of a crush on him before, but I convinced myself that it would be nothing more than a crush. I told myself that long distance relationships never worked out and I was just some kid to him. But actually being around him was wonderful, and I realized just how stunning he was. From his jet black hair to his pale features to his eyes that looked like an ocean and a forest mixed together to his piercings and tattoos, I was absolutely in love with him. I kept my feelings to myself, though. After all, he was straight. Well, that's what I thought anyways.

It was a Friday afternoon, a few months after I had moved in. I was walking with Phil to his house from school. We were going to have a Studio Ghibli movie marathon, something we had been planning for weeks, and tonight was the perfect night since we would have the house to ourselves. Hell, I had even dressed for the occasion, wearing a pastel pink jumper adorned with Jiji the cat.

I felt nervous, and I couldn't quite place why. I had gone to Phil's house so many times, and I never really felt like this. The only time I ever felt this way was when he would laugh or smile and it gave me butterflies. I decided to brush it off, figuring it was nothing.

After making sure we had an endless supply of popcorn, we settled and started with My Neighbor Totoro.

Time had slipped by with such ease that we hadn't realized it was already nearly three in the morning.

Reluctantly, we got up and dressed for bed.

"I'll take the floor. You can sleep on the bed," Phil said.

I shook my head. "We are not having this argument again. It's either you take the bed and I take the floor or we sleep together. No exceptions."

We didn't usually sleep together, but the last time I had spent the night with him, it was a rather stormy night. As childish as it may seem, I'm afraid of the dark. So, the only light in the room was the constant lightning flashes that made odd shadows and let my imagination run wild. I had gotten scared and Phil comforted me. The next morning, we awoke a tangle of limbs. Somehow, it felt natural, and I secretly wanted to have him that close to me again.

Despite him having somewhat of a choice in how we slept, he still chose to sleep with me. I figured it was just him being nice and not wanting to put me on the floor.

I stared up at the ceiling with was decorated with various glowing stars, and I couldn't help but softly hum Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran.

Phil's steady breathing mixed with the calming song now stuck in my head was lulling me to sleep. I knew Phil was asleep by then. He always fell asleep quickly.

"I love you, Phil," I mumbled.

"I love you, too, Dan," was the soft reply I got. Fuck, he was awake, and he heard me. He rolled over to face me, a smile on his face. "Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars?" he asked hopefully.

"Dork," I said, chuckling. I closed what little space was left between are lips and connected them. It wasn't a lustful kiss at all. It was soft and a bit clumsy given the fact that we were both tired. It went from a long kiss that only broke when we needed air to short ones that landed in odd places since we were in the dark and left us giggling.

Finally, we broke apart, and ended up cuddling. I decided to speak up. "Phil?"

"Hm?"

I couldn't believe what I was about to say. It sounded so weird coming from me. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

"I'd be honored to be able to call someone as beautiful and adorable as you my boyfriend."

That night, we both slept peacefully as he held me in his arms.

The days following passed happily. Our relationship seemed so perfect.

Our first date was just outside his house where we slow danced under what little stars you could see in the city. I had to lead since Phil had no coordination, and it was a bit awkward since he was the taller one. Needless to say, it was still romantic.

Just as we were about to go inside, I stopped him with a smile on my face. "See that star?"

"Yeah."

"It says you're a nerd."

He laughed, lightly pushing me. "Well aren't you smooth."

"I try," I said, laughing along with him.

No matter how strange of a couple we seemed to be, we fit like two puzzle pieces that were meant for each other. We didn't look at all like we belonged together, but as they say, opposites attract.


End file.
